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A local program that helps burned war veterans with summer cooling bills could soon be a model for Texas.

San Antonio veterans who have struggled with medical and financial challenges while recovering from severe burns also would like the 2-year-old utility assistance program replicated in other warm-weather states.

“Burns are the worst war injuries to take care of and to comprehend,” said Bobby Ehrig, who suffered third-degree burns to 40 percent of his body from a 2006 suicide bomb attack in Iraq.

Burned veterans, having lost their sweat glands and epidermal insulation, are at greater risk than most people of overheating — a threat with potentially deadly consequences, he said.

The San Antonio Express-News first encountered the issue in 2006, while following an Iraq veteran with burns to 79 percent of his body from an explosion. During an interview in his home, he overheated, losing consciousness until his wife used an ice pack to cool him down. The family's monthly utility bills had risen from $150 to $265.

Van de Putte and state Rep. José Menéndez, both San Antonio Democrats, now are sponsoring bills allowing other Texas utilities to voluntarily offer a similar break to severely burned combat veterans with “a significantly decreased ability to regulate the individual's body temperature,” as determined by a physician. The Senate unanimously passed Van de Putte's bill last week.

Lisa Lewis, CPS Energy's vice president of corporate communications, said the utility's financial impact from the discount has been minimal, even though Ehrig said it provides great relief to families of burned veterans.

“We're happy to do it,” Lewis said. “We see it as a way to give back to those folks.”

Even though close to 1,000 military troops burned in Iraq or Afghanistan have been treated at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston since 2003, Lewis said only 19 are currently in the program. Ehrig estimated some 250 veterans statewide would be eligible — only about one in 100,000 Texans.

Because their bodies easily overheat and take long to cool, burned vets often stay inside , with the thermostat set at no more than 70 degrees, resulting in sky-high bills. Ehrig, who was lying on a beach in Spain a month before his injury, can no longer be out in the heat for more than about 10 minutes. Early in his recovery, his monthly summer bills exceeded $800.

“You hear stories about seniors who die at home,” he said. “That's the risk we face. It's a stressor to pay so much and not have any choice.”

Most Texas veterans treated for burns in San Antonio have no utility relief when they return to their hometown, Van de Putte said.

“I know utilities in other parts of the state will appreciate being allowed to help our burned warriors in their service areas as well,” she said.

Bobby Henline, who has an amputated arm, disfigured face and burns to 38 percent of his body from a bomb blast in Iraq, participated in the program in its first year and has since made a name for himself as a standup comedian and motivational speaker. He envisions similar programs in Sunbelt states such as Florida, California and Arizona.

“If we can get this nationwide, that would be awesome. For someone with three or four kids, $90 a month goes a long way toward gasoline, bills or something for your family,” said Henline, the sole survivor of a roadside blast that killed four other soldiers.

Ehrig said Bethesda, Md., with its military medical facilities, and California, which has leading rehabilitation centers, could follow San Antonio's lead.